The 1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Golden Eagles were led by eighth-year head coach Jeff Bower and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium. In their second year in the Conference USA, they claimed their second-straight conference championship with a 6–0 C-USA record and a 9–3 record overall.[1] They were invited to the 1997 Liberty Bowl, where they defeated Pittsburgh, 41–7. In the final AP and Coaches Polls of the season, the Golden Eagles were ranked 19th, which was the first ranked finish in school history.[2]
| 1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football | |
|---|---|
Conference USA champion Liberty Bowl champion | |
Liberty Bowl, W 41–7 vs. Pittsburgh | |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 19 |
| AP | No. 19 |
| Record | 9–3 (6–0 C-USA) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Larry Kueck (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
| Defensive coordinator | John Thompson (6th season) |
| Base defense | Multiple |
| Home stadium | M. M. Roberts Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Southern Miss $ | 6 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 4 | – | 2 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 2 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston | 2 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | at No. 2 Florida* | L 6–21 | 85,439 | [3] | |||
| September 6 | at Illinois* | ESPN2 | W 24–7 | 44,519 | [4] | ||
| September 20 | Nevada* | W 35–19 | 26,481 | [5] | |||
| September 27 | at No. 21 Alabama* | PPV | L 13–27 | 83,091 | [6] | ||
| October 4 | Louisville |
| W 42–24 | 23,028 | [7] | ||
| October 11 | at East Carolina | W 23–13 | 33,904 | [8] | |||
| October 25 | Tulane |
| W 34–13 | 26,092 | [9] | ||
| November 1 | at Cincinnati | No. 24 | W 24–17 | 23,799 | [10] | ||
| November 8 | at No. 8 Tennessee* | No. 24 | PPV | L 20–44 | 107,073 | [11] | |
| November 15 | Houston |
| W 33–0 | 20,091 | [12] | ||
| November 22 | at Memphis | W 42–18 | 17,243 | [13] | |||
| December 31 | vs. Pittsburgh* | No. 22 |
| ESPN | W 41–7 | 50,209 | [14] |
| |||||||
Rankings
edit| Week | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | 24 | — | — | 23 | 22 | 22 | 19 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | 24 | 23 | 22 | 19 | |
References
edit- ^ "1997 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles School History". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ "Gators survive Golden Eagles". Pensacola News Journal. August 31, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Loss is no shock for Illini". Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fourth quarter foils Wolf Pack". Reno Gazette-Journal. September 21, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Turnovers costly to USM". Hattiesburg American. September 28, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cards 'just disappointing' again, 42–24". The Courier-Journal. October 5, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eagles rally past ECU". Hattiesburg American. October 12, 1997. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eagles beat emotion out of Wave 34–13". The Clarion-Ledger. October 26, 1997. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mistakes are costly for Bearcats". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 2, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Vols rip Southern Miss". The Jackson Sun. November 9, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Southern Miss secures Liberty bid". The Commercial Appeal. November 16, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eagles close deal in C-USA". The Clarion-Ledger. November 23, 1997. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Panthers miss-fire". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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